This is My Demon
by Resting-Madness
Summary: AU. Rei is coping with the loss of his parents, while living his Uncle in Japan. He plans to change his life, but it won't be easy, when he's hiding a dark secret about himself.
1. Emotional Overload

Warnings: Sex, some language, incest, drug use.

Disclaimers: I don't own "Beyblade" or anything involving the show and its creation- duh! I make no profit from this work of fiction.

Author's Note: This is written very strangely, I'll admit it. But that's because I was doing it from a place that I want people to know what Rei is going through. So, I hope there's not too much confusion, thank you for reading and leaving a review if you choose to.

Don't even think you'll see a description of Hillary, or Mariah.

….

Prologue:

The room was lit-up from light fixture to light fixture, illuminating off the walls and over the room of dancers. Something seems strange about them though. It could be the unusual choice of clothing they're all wearing; fancy jackets and shoes and things. But actually, it's that they all have a masquerade mask on their faces, not held like you would see in all the movies or shows, but banded to their faces by an elastic band.

Crystal chandeliers drop down from the ceiling, long tables line the right wall with champagne colored table cloths, tied off at the ends with crystal tip bands. The food set out on the tables is fresh Grade A quality, and some of it is custom made just for the party. Many of the hundreds of guest there have been glued to these tables sampling the foods and desserts- who could pull away from such treats?

As well as food, the music is rather nice. Something a bit classical to match the dress code, but occasionally something of this century is played just to keep the younger set interested. Speaking of the guest, whomever lives here must be rich. Whomever's having the party must be happy. Or so you'd think.

"Maaan this party blows." A thin voice complains to the person standing next to him.

Both teens are very similar in a physical way, they're both tall, though one taller than the other. Thin, though one thinner than the other. But beyond their build, their looks are complete opposites.

One has a swarm of grey hair sprouting from the top of his mask, and to an on-looker you'd say he has gray hair. But get a little closer- well, maybe not that close- but rather if you step behind him, you'd see that he has two-toned hair. And the rest of it is a rich black, sprouting from the back long enough to make a ponytail if he chose to. He almost looks like a volcano after the eruption. But the red eyes behind the mask say he could go at any second.

The taller male, the speaker, is the opposite of that. His hair is flaming red like a volcano that has just erupted at the sides of his head. But his eyes are as blue as ice, an absolute zero winter freeze; but of the two, he seems to be the most talkative and companionable. He's a tad thinner than the other male, okay, a LOT thinner but he seems healthy so why complain.

"Can't enjoy your own party, Tala. It's not everyday a guy turns... what was that age again? Forty?"

His friend laughs. Tight, as though he doesn't really approve of it, but you can't help when it comes out. "Funny?"

He points his index finger out like a gun aiming it down at the dancers, one eye winked, he makes a popping sound like the 'hand gun' has just gone off, then again.

"You know I'm only fifteen..." He straightens up, shooting one last glance over the high balcony before turning his gaze on his friend. "_But_, _I am_ much more mature than you, Kai. So I can see how you'd make the mistake."

"Seriously Tal', why do you ask for these things when you don't really want them?"

His burning glare catches some odd movement on the dance floor. Seems someone is trying to move against the current and if they don't figure out the best way to get through the crowd, chances are, they'd be trampled.

"More fun for me." Tala replies. Looking over the railing, he sees the person now too, but instead of studying them like it's National Geographic, he points and laughs. High and hysterical, like a joker's. "Looks like new meat. Everyone knows where the servants route is."

"Hm." Kai kept his eye on the person.

A teenager, Kai could tell by the persons posture. He's wearing a cat's mask, so his face is covered considerably but behind him is a long braided tail of hair that made something in Kai twitch. Turning, he walks away from his friend towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Asks Tala, though he didn't expect an answer.

That's how Kai is, either he's talkative or he's not. Tala often joked with their other friend's that Kai's conversational skills depend on the right time, right day; Mars being in Venus or something like that. Looking back to the lost servant, Tala was surprised to see he had made it to the tables. Too bad, he really wanted to watch the mess hit the floor. Straightening up, he sees the lights dim. He knows what's coming now.

"If we could all direct our attention to the spot light." A broadly built yet elegant and tall man, lifts his glass into the air.

Tala glared down at his step father before a large spot light nearly blinds him, then he turns on his best smile.

"On the count of three! One... Two... Three..."

_"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"_

The crowd sang; and he smiled through the worlds biggest humiliation. But at least he has the mask on and it wasn't like he minds the attention. He loves it when people notice him. Who else would purposefully pull off such an interesting hair style, unless they've wanted to receive a couple hundred stares.

Skimming the crowd. Tala wondered where his friend had gone to, and why he would rush off so quickly?_ Hn. Probably went to get his over the top gift for me, claims it's just some thing he thought I'd like. Even though I've probably been hinting about it all year_. He smirks. _That sly dog_.

The boy in the cat mask looks up at the balcony. Due to the blinding light he can just barely make out the person being sang to. It didn't matter. Rich brats are all the same. Why else would anyone have a birthday party this extravagant? Because they can. It doesn't make you cool or anything like that in this guy's eyes. To him, you're just another rich brat tossing around your money. In his hometown, back in China, he's had small birthday parties with his best friends and his older brother. They would sing, play games, and maybe go fishing after he's opened his gift that they chipped in and bought together from one of the neighboring towns lovely shops. Simple things. That's what makes him happy.

"Are you a glutton for punishment, or just new at this?" A male voice asks.

Turning to see whom the speaker was, the boy's golden eyes widen. He's tall, a bit taller than him; dressed in a gorgeous grey suit complimented by the shiny black and gold and purple mask over his face. But the thing that got to the boy the most are the older male's eyes. Red like rubies. Kai was staring as well. To him the servent was adorable. Cute face- from what he could see of it, nice body. The suit looked brand new, so he must have just bought it recently, but it worked for him; white, like all the other servants and a black bow tie. Well, caterer's- Tala liked to call them servants.

His mask, though, complimented him the most. His golden eyes shined behind the golden mask that had a bit of color around the trim, it looked to be a burnt orange color. To top it off, there were whiskers, black and shiny coming out from the sides.

The boy parted his lips to answer, but bit back the words. "I'm here with my uncle. It's my first time."

Kai smiled. "I'll show you where the servants path is. Come on." Waving a hand he turned around to lead the boy through the room.

The servant nearly caught his breath seeing the silky black hair that swept over the boys neck. Two colored hair. He'd never seen anything like it. If it weren't for better upbringing he would have reached out and touched it, but instead he followed along like instructed.

Truthfully he hated the whole thing. His uncle Stan, whom he's visiting this summer, told him to come with him to this Russian brats birthday party and cater for him with the other helpers. His uncle is a very famous chef and only the ritziest people could afford him, which is why he's here at the birthday party. He didn't want to do it but, being only thirteen, he really had no choice but to listen to the man.

_"Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"_

How long do those people plan on singing? The boy wonders. Looking up ahead, he sees the older male turn off into a small area.

Tala stands above the people, rolling his eyes in boredom. _If that man doesn't hurry up with my damned cake already_... Sighing, he skims the crowd for Kai. He's nowhere in sight. _Where the fuck did he go?_

The two male's were panting and groaning as they wedged themselves into a corner of the pantry by the kitchen. The servant raised his leg around the older boy's trim waist, just as his strong hand slips beyond his belt. He jerks him quickly, afraid that they'd run out of time and get discovered by one of the other servants. But it wasn't so much the skin on skin contact they had. It was the kiss. Fiery, electric. One tongue burning as the other struck into the other boy's mouth over and over like zaps of lightning. They would never forget that kiss.

"Tala my boy," the gentleman who had spoken before was now standing behind him, arm around his shoulders. "Blow out the candles and make a wish."

"Tch." He turns his nose up. "Like it would come true." Bending over he blows out the candles, receiving a loud applause from the guest below.

Minutes had passed, and the two boys finally slowed down. Fixing their clothes, the servant looks to the other male. He's quiet.

_This was a mistake._ He thinks. _Maybe he didn't like it_. He was, after all, on top but it was his first time; this should cut him some slack, right? _I better say something_. Clearing his voice, he touched the older males shoulder. "Hey. Are you ok?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

"I... don't know. I feel all right. H- how 'bout you?"

"Good." Smirking, the boy looks seriously into the dark haired male's eyes- well, what he can see of them. "...I'll never forget you..."

The boy widened his eyes. Those weren't the words he expected. "Huh?"

Kai smiles again, shaking his head. "Aha, this was your first time?"

The servant blushed. "...Yeah, was I...?" He couldn't bring himself to finish it.

"You weren't... if you were asking whether or not you did badly."

They were silent again. Kai pressed a hand to the door. "I have to get going."

"Wait! I should tell you my name, it's-..."

"No." He cut the boy off abruptly. "I don't need your name to remember you." He pushed the door open. "The servant's path is just past here, you can't miss it."

"O..kay.." He was still a bit stunned. In _awe_ almost.

9 9 9

Rei cracked an eye open as his attention seemed to be desired by someone next to him. All remnants of the dream long gone in a cloud of blurred dust. Blinking the blur from his eyes, he looks to his left seeing a tall woman with short black hair and a tight blue mini skirt tapping on his shoulder. Her smile is warm and friendly; it makes Rei feel... almost comfortable.

"Sorry to wake you," The woman said. "But the plane will be landing momentarily, and we'd like for you to buckle up, please."

It's a Stuartist. Rei had fallen asleep on the plane during his trip to Japan. Well, not _trip_ it's more like a permanent thing. You see, Rei is being moved to a home in Japan with his uncle Stan and his older brother Lee who has been living with the man for some time now while attending school.

The burdoned teen didn't want to go, but he was forced into it because of the recent passing of his and Lee's parents. All the Kon's; which consist only of Lee, Rei, and his uncle were at the burning of their bodies. It was heart wrenching for the younger boy because he couldn't handle life without the people who raised and took care of him since he was a tiny baby.

Stan understood the boy's sadness, and told Rei he could remain in China until he finished the remainder of school then he would come to Japan to live with him and his older brother. It would be better- Rei's uncle adds- if the family that is left, stayed together. Besides that, with Rei only being 15 years old he really needed a guardian since he isn't ready to be alone yet.

So here he is, on a plane and going to Japan. Rei wasn't even sure he could speak Japanese as fluently as his brother, and then there his uncle Stan- who knows about four languages! Sure, Rei spoke Mandarin and Cantonese but when it came to Japanese he tended to slip up on his markers. Oh well, he guessed he could learn as he goes.

"Thanks." He says to the Stuartist then fastens his seatbelt. Peering out the window at the clouds drifting by, he feels the plane declining.

Good thing the woman woke him, or he'd have a rude awakening by smacking his face into the back of the chair in front of him. The plane makee a smooth landing, and everyone inside unloaded, scattering about the terminal of the airport; some going to the snack bars, others going to the news stands to buy comics or newspapers. Most of the people checked for flights that they would be climbing on to next, since they had to switch at half way points. The remaining people, like Rei, looked around for their ride.

"Rei!" He hears his uncle.

"Bro! Come on!" Shouts Lee.

Turning his vision from left to right he spots the two holding his suitcases, waving their hands in the air. Smiling, he walks over to them receiving hugs from both at different times. It felt like ages since he's seen his brother but it was only a couple months ago; Lee's gotten so much bigger since then. His uncle looks exactly the same: Puffy like a blowfish with a catfish kind of mustache. Quite different from the rest of the family, who're often told has the resemblance to a cat.

The three walk through the busy crowding of the airport's human traffic. Once outside, they're led a ways along the terminal's entrance; Stan takes out a little device from his pocket, which he presses a button to unlock the doors of a car somewhere in the distance. A car pulls up in front of them; and for a minute Rei thinks that the car has driven itself up to the curb but, catching a glimpse at the driver's seat he spots a thin man sitting behind the wheel, with a bright smile on his face. He must be paid very well.

Climbing into the backseat, it shocks him that the car has a seating across from it as well. Just how well does his uncle have it? Back home he's used to simple things, simple food... pretty much the simple life. But all this_... technology_ seemed a bit distracting. Rei wondered how his brother managed to "fit in" his first time here. He must have liked it, why else would he have insisted their parents send him out there.

Only time Rei's seen his uncle was over a summer... that summer was a blur to him really. But he remembers going someplace with him, helping out with his cooking job.

Come to think of it, the dream on the plane- the same dream he's been having since his parents died, seemed to be some sort of lost thought about that summer. He never remembered the full events when he woke up, but he always felt like he were blushing. Strange. Though, he supposed whatever happened it must not have been so important since he has forgotten it. Yet... He can't help but wonder why his mind would want to keep replaying something to him over and over again.

Scooting over for his brother; he got a friendly pat on the leg, and smile for what Rei could only assume was for good measure. The car wheeled away from the airport taking Rei to his new home. The drive there was pleasant, his uncle played the radio and a couple songs Rei recognized came on, other ones he thought sounded nice enough to hear a second or third time. The city is vast with people coming out of everywhere: Clothing stores, shopping markets, electronics places, just about everywhere.

When the city sights were out of view, Rei knew they were halfway there. He had to take a few deep breaths when he saw the familiar news stand just outside of the town. This was it, this is where he would be living from now on. He'll be a new person... he'll never see China again... He'll never-... The young boy's eyes roll up to the top of his head and he falls forward to the floor.

"Rei!" Cried his uncle.

Lee looked down astonished. "Guess the excitement was too much for him."


	2. Lee Kon's Guide to Japan Living

Notice: Rei is speaking to his therapist whenever everything is in italics. Okay. That's about it. Enjoy the chapter sayonara. Fantasy.

Author's Notes: This story is soooo old, sorry if it comes off bizzare, right? Anyway, I'll fix where I can but mostly I wanna leave it as it is. I changed the title it used to be Truth Behind Demons.

….

_"So that's what happened my first day in Japan... I blacked out in my uncles town car."_ _He sighs, fidgeting a moment in his seat._

_Sometimes he was completely comfortable in the woman's office, and other times he just wanted to head for the hills. The youngest Kon child has been attending therapy sessions since his first day of middle school, and so far it was a comfort to him. He managed to talk about his feelings with losing his parents, about how its affected his life to a point of thinking that he may not be able to function right without them._

_But thanks to the help of his therapist, Miki Ito, he realizes that what happened to his parents isn't his fault and that he doesn't have to be afraid of change. Rei was happy for the time, but then one day he showed up again... this time he had a new problem, but this one was a lot bigger than his parents death. A LOT bigger, and willingly coming to a therapist without someone asking you to, is a sure sign that this patient is one to listen to. _

_"So you mean to tell me about when the problem started." Miki says, turning on a tape recorder. "Because you were down about your parents when you were taken away from China, but now... you've been having other problems. What kind of other problems?" _

_Rei shrugs. "I'm not sure. I just... I don't know, feel weird. Everyday it feels like the world is about to swallow me whole, and there's nothing I can do about it." _

_"Do you think it could be withdraw?" _

_"Withdraw?" _

_"Because of your coping with your parents death?" _

_Rei looked confused by this. He's never heard of such a thing as 'coping withdraw'. "Iiii'm not sure what you mean?" _

_"What I mean is, now that your parents are safely in your heart and you've accepted their absence in your life, you're unconsciously seeking out a new problem to fill the void that you're left with." _

_"...I think that could be it..." He looks at his lap, twiddling his fingers together. _

_Miki watched this a moment, then sighs. "Do you have anyone in your life now that... maybe takes away some of that loneliness- like your brother, or your uncle- a friend?" _

_"No... no... and maybe." _

_"Why maybe, who's the maybe?" _

_"A boy I met... I really like him. His name is Tyson and," He felt his cheeks heating as he's trailing off. He wasn't sure what he had to say next was the kind of thing you tell a therapist about yourself. He wasn't even sure he would tell his self that. But he knew one thing was for sure, it was now a part of his 'problem'. _

_"Rei? You were saying?" _

_"Uh... I think I should start from the beginning for this one."_

8 8 8

Rei's eyes scrunched before they slowly began to open_. Looks like this is starting to become a pattern with me_. Some thing was coming into focus, something weird. "Huh?"

A tiny child like voice began to speak when, whatever the object is sees that his eyes are opening. "Oh boy, he's waking up." Something soft touched Rei's cheek. "We thought you'd be out forever. Want some tea?"

Blinking away the blur from his eyes, Rei jumps out of his skin when a little panda bear, dressed in green and gold Chinese garment, plants a kiss on his cheek. "Lee!" He barks seeing his older brother sitting beside him holding the small, palm sized, bear in his hand.

Lee stuck his tongue out with a wink, dropping the bear into his brother's lap. "Hahaha, did I scare you?"

"A little, what... happened? Where am I?" He looked around at the bedroom he's now residing in.

It was obvious his brother or uncle carried him into the house after his little dizzy spell.

"In your new bedroom. Do you like it?" He turns his head.

The yellow ribbon his brother always wears to tie back his hair up, shows in the process. For some reason it made Rei smile. He could remember the first time his brother had bought that.

Them and their friends were running around the village playing a game they made up called, 'in the jungle'. The point of the game was to run around in the forest after your friends have hidden themselves in the trees over head, and avoid being hit with nuts, pine cones, sticks, anything the throwers could get their hands on. Stupid game, sure, but they loved to play it. And once you made it to the end of the forest, you win. None of them dodged as good as Lee could, and in the end, he ended up winning a lovely ribbon made of real Chinese silk.

But with the way his brother has changed, Rei thought for sure something as mediocre as a childhood ribbon would be beyond him.

"Uncle Stan thought that you would really like the design." His brother went on with pride for the room in his voice. "He called the decorator the minute he knew you'd be coming." Smiling at his brother, he picks up the little puppet again, using the same child-like voice. "So what do you think?"

Rei looked about the room. Everything was done in reds, white, and black with a gold item here and there. Knowing his uncle's money the gold was real. The bed that he had been resting in for... who knows how long, is a low-level bed, meaning, it's in the floor. It's round in shape and has a special made blanket to fit its large shape perfectly. The colors are red, black and white pillows; more than one bed needs, in Rei's opinion. There's also a red blanket and red sheets. The floor is hardwood and very shiny. It looked like it were just polished this morning.

"And check it out," His brother pressed lightly against the edging of the bed. "Hidden compartments."

"Cool."

"Yeah, but the best part in my opinion is this," Standing, he leaves the bed and points at a shelf in the middle of the wall.

"I don't get it, what's so great about that?"

Lee looked at his brother like he'd just punched an old lady and walked on by. "This is a trophy shelf. I had Uncle put it in for you. I figure, being a Kon, it'll take you maybeeee one year of school to fill this out."

Rei shakes his head, sitting up completely straight. He has perfect posture, that isn't about to be ruined by leaning on his elbows. "I wasn't aware that I'd be joining any teams."

"You've got to bro! It's the Kon way!" Tromping back over to his little brother, feet beating on the floor the whole way, Lee sits on the floor with his feet on the bed. "Remember how Dad won all those karate medals back home, and Mom, she always won things like ribbons and junk for having the best this and that at any sale."

"Ribbons?"

"It doesn't matter Rei, competing and winning is in our blood."

Smiling, Rei shakes his head. "If you say so." Looking around, he furrows a brow. "Where's my luggage?"

"Junpei put it up for you."

Nodding, Rei gets to his feet. "How long have I been out?"

Lee checks his watch. "A good hour or so. Hey, what was that back there anyway?" He touches his brother's hand. "Has that been happening a lot lately?"

What was Lee saying, that he's some kind of fainting princess? "No! Its never happened before."

"Good. Uncle Stan was gonna call the hospital, but I talked him out of it... I figured you could walk it off once you got up."

_You mean IF I'd gotten up_. "Thanks."

"You want the grand tour, or do you think you'll manage on your own."

"I can manage, just tell me where the bathroom is."

Pointing at the exit of the bed room, he replies. "Right out the door, a little to the left."

"Thanks." Walking into the bathroom, Rei closes the door after him.

Fishing around the sash around his waist, he pulls out a red headband with a yin-yang sign sewn onto the front. Heaving a sigh, he clutched the headband to his chest. The boy thought for sure he had accidentally dropped it some place, or that someone had discovered it and hid it within that new room of his. It belonged to his father. It is the very headband that he wore when he won all of those medals and trophies Lee was going on about.

And to it, his mother added the symbol of his country. Rei has loved it ever since his father bestowed it to him, and the young boy swore he would never let anything happen to it. After all, this was all he had left of them.

A tear hit his hand. Rei hates crying, he never wanted to show weakness, and he wasn't about to start now. Sucking all his nerves in, he stuffed the headband back into his belt. Making sure to dry his eyes, Rei turned on the sink water, splashing some water onto his face. Grabbing a towel from the wrack, he dried up then checked himself in the mirror. Satisfied, he heads from the bathroom back to his bedroom, finding that his brother is gone.

_Must have gone downstairs_. Looking from left to right, he sees a shadow at the end of the hall.

Deciding that that is where the stairs are, he walks past a slew of bedrooms all lavishly done up in modern Japanese looks except the heavy carpets draped over the floor, wall to wall. The larger bedroom must be his uncles.

The stairs are wide and turn off at a point. The carvings on the banisters are really nice. He always liked spiraled poles. Something about them has a bit of elegance. Lee is not downstairs. But his uncle is. The man smiled at him from behind his tea cup; putting it down, he stands and walks over to his nephew.

"Rei, you're awake." He hugs him.

Rei lowers the hand that he had placed up between them. "Where's Lee?"

"Working out upstairs, I imagine." Slipping a beefy arm around the boy's shoulders, he guides him into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh... sure." He takes a seat at the table. Watching the tall man, who was driving the car, milling around the kitchen, Rei wondered if he were the only help his uncle hired.

"There you are, master Raymond." The man says.

"It's just Rei. R-E-I."

Junpei nods. "Very well." Walking away from the young master and his employer, Junpei leaves the kitchen.

"He's a very good man, my boy. You'll learn to love him."

"Learn to?"

The man just makes an audible sound. "I have to work tonight. Your brother will be here for you if you don't wish to come with me."

"Uncle, I'm fourteen. I've been watching myself for months now."

The man waved a pudgy hand. "I know, I know, but in my eyes you're still that little boy from back home."

_How would he know, he hasn't lived 'back home' since I was two_. Smiling, he nods understandingly. "Uncle?"

"Yes, Rei?"

"Can I go for a walk, I wanna... get familiar with the neighborhood again." Looking into his cup rather than at his uncle, he feels a hefty pat on the back.

"Go right ahead. Would you like Junpei to follow you incase you get lost."

"No thanks. Half the fun of exploring is getting lost, right."

Stan laughs to himself. "Yes, I suppose it is."

Getting up from the chair, he walks to the exit. "I'm gonna get my shoes on." He waved a hand. "I'll try to be back before you leave, okay."

"Mm hmm."

Stepping into his shoes at the door, Rei ponders over changing his clothes. He has been wearing the same thing for what had to be two days. _Well there's a no brainer_. Stepping out of his shoes again, the young boy hurried upstairs to change.

8 8 8

Rei walked down the sidewalk, hands in his jeans' pockets and head held high. Not like, chin in the air arrogance, but UP, like he's looking at the sky. _The birds are different, the air is different_. Looking down at the concrete under his feet, he sighs. "But _you_, are the biggest difference of all."

Sure, China has a mass amount of cities, but, good for the city. He lived in the mountains. Dirt, trees, togetherness. That's what living is about.

"Aahahaha!"

"Haha hee hee hee!"

Rei turned his head at the sound of two kids laughing about something. Following the clatter of what has to be four individual giggles, he finds himself at a park area. _Ha. Haven't been to a park in ages_. Walking into the playground, he takes a seat on a nearby swing. He didn't feel silly at all. After all, swings are for everybody, right?

The little kids are launching small spinning tops into a dish; Rei recognized this from commercials. It was... Bey... Beytops or something like that. He didn't think it would catch on but, here is a small group of kids who seem to be having a ball and a half with it.

"They're little brats you know." A voice says behind him.

"Huh?"

"All those kids, they're little brats."

The chains to the swing beside Rei jiggle a moment as a boy climbs into it. He's medium hieght, long black hair drawn into a ponytail topped with a baseball cap; but the thing Rei couldn't get over was how adorable he is, and what he was doing to his insides. It felt as though his heart were suddenly beating a mile a minute. The Chinese boy was sure that he has _feelings_ for guys but, he's never really felt the need to act upon them. Because the only time he's had his heart beat like this is when he has those weird dreams about this mystery guy- who may or may not exist.

"Is that so?" Rei finally says to the boy's remark.

The boy smiled at him then looked at the very children he was talking about.

"Ha ha. See you around." Jumping from the swing, the mystery boy walked away just as casually as he had come.

Rei watched his every move. _What a... weird guy_. He didn't take his eyes off of him.

...

_Rei's watch began to beep. Shaking off the past events, he looks at his therapist. "I guess my segments over."_

"But, you didn't explain why Tyson is so important to you." Says Miki.

"Um," he stands. "I guess I'll have to tell you another time then. I have to work today." Picking up his jacket, he folds it over his arm then crosses the room to the woman, where he gives her a hug. "Bye Miki."

"Bye, sweet heart."

Leaving the room, Rei strolls down the hall of the building to the elevator. Once on, he presses the button for the lobby and waits for it to carry him down to the first floor from the fourth. Glad to be alone; Rei pulls a bottle out of his pants pocket, pops the lid and shakes out a pill into his hand. Tossing it into his mouth, he swallows it quickly just as the elevator opens. Stepping off, he heads for the water fountain and takes a big gulp. Satisfied with the amount of water he's taken, he resets his watch to beep again four hours later.

"See you later, Rei."

He waves to the man at the front desk. "Bye."

The large glass doors push open as he makes his exit. Turning the corner at the building, he stands at the bus stop to wait for the one that's heading uptown. Loud J-rap is the first thing he hears before a familiar red car pulls up beside him.

"Lee?"

"Come on, Bro. I'll take you to work."

Hesitant, he walks over to the car then climbs in. Looking at the building with a shake of his head, Lee then starts off. "I don't know why you need therapy, Rei." His little brother looks at him. "No Kon has ever needed therapy."

He shrugs. "There's a first time for everything." Looking into the back seat of the convertible, he frowns. "Did you bring my uniform?"

"Yeah, it must have fallen to the floor, but don't worry it's covered."

"Oh."

Smiling at his brother, Lee pats him on the shoulder. "Learn to relax Rei," he presses down on the gas. "Just relax."

Relax? Thinks the boy. Who can relax when he's driving?


	3. Almost Famous

_"Hi Miki." Greets Rei, closing the door to the woman's office. He had promised to get on with his story about his boyfriend, Tyson, today. And truthfully, he was feeling kind of nervous. He had spent most of the night awake wondering just how he would tell his therapist that he's gay, and that he and Tyson have been seeing each other for a couple months now. But he knew he could do it, mostly, with the story he thought up. Truth or not, it would explain everything without just jumping right into it._

_"Good afternoon, Rei." The woman greets in return. "How was school?" _

_"Great. Just the same as any other day."_

_"Highschool isn't giving you any problems anymore?"_

_She was dancing around her curiosity about Tyson, he could tell, but he fed into her stalling. _

_"Yeah, everything is fine over there too. I can't wait to tell you about how my first day there went, but today I think we'll just focus on the happiness in my life." _

_Miki laughed, her mound of curls shaking a bit with her shoulders. "Very well then, tell me about Tyson." _

_Taking a seat on the long chair, he sighs. "Our friendship started out as game of silent eye talk... I'd see him around, or he'd see me but we wouldn't say anything to each other. It was like we were just wondering how much of the other person we wanted to get to know. Do you know what I mean?" _

_Miki nods. _

_"Our first real conversation happened on a Saturday over the summer."_

...

Rei is walking steadily through the neighborhood, headphones covering his ears to block out the sounds of Japan wavering past him occasionally. He loved taking walks now adays, it was a good way to refresh himself from being stuck in his uncle's house with all those **expensive** things, and a butler. Rei didn't think he'd ever get used to having a butler asking him what he wanted to eat, or asking him if he needed the man to drive him someplace. The answer, from his young master, was always 'No thanks, I can do it myself'.

Today was no exception and Rei wasn't sure but he could swear that Junpei had gotten in the car and was following him. Pausing in his steady pace, he turns his head so that he can see over his shoulder. There wasn't a car in sight, but Rei is sure that someone is back there. Turning down his music so that he can be aware of everything around him, he begins to walk again. Some time along his walk a kid he's never seen before waved to him, and he replied with a curt little nod.

_The people here sure are friendly_. Thinks the Chinese boy. _I wonder if_-...

"So I've been thinking,"

Rei jumped out of his skin, body shaking from start of the unexpected voice beside him; he knew somebody was following him. Well, whoever it was is about to get the thrashing of a lifetime for scaring him out of his wits like that. Who just walks up on somebody, unannounced, then just starts talking?

Turning around, ready to tell the person off, Rei's words are silenced when seeing whom it is he's about to snap at, and "Uh..." was his only response.

Tyson smiles at him, arms behind his head while he casually fell into step with the new boy in the neighborhood. "I've been thinking that maybe you and me could go out sometime. Maybe lunch or something, I know this great place."

Rei was still silent, mostly because he was shocked that the boy whose been facially, and eye-contactly stalking him for weeks was now talking to him directly. Then he was silent for a bit longer, when he realized what he'd just asked him. "Uh," was, again, the only thing he could think of.

Tyson laughed at the popular little phrase his new friend seemed to have. "Not much for conversation, are ya?"

Shaking off his nerves so that he wasn't further humiliated, Rei stopped his CD player and slipped his headphones down. "Sorry, I couldn't really hear you, but, did you just ask me out?"

"Something like that, you're not gonna be the only one there." He drops his arms. "I'm bringing some of my other friends too- mooostly because they said they'd pay for themselves."

"Haha, a cheapskate, huh?"

The other boy blinked as though he'd never heard of such a word before, then replied with a wave of his hand. "I'm not 'stingy', I'm just not as wealthy as I should be."

"Good way to put it."

"But, I'm willing to make an exception for you, because you're new here." He slaps Rei on the back. "You can't afford to say no."

"Actually, I can." He moves himself from the grip Tyson has on his shoulder. "I have a job at my uncle's restaurant, I set up plates in the kitchen."

"No fooling? Cool." He looked impressed. "Wish I had an uncle to get me a job."

"Why don't you lie about your age," he looks across the street.

Rei hadn't realized he was heading home. He must have, subconsciously, turned in that direction when he thought he was being followed.

"I'm sure you could pass for 16."

"And put age on my youthful stature. No way."

"How old are you?"

"14."

"See. I'd believe you were sixteen."

Tyson shrugged it off. "Naah, work isn't really my thing."

The dark haired boy nods to that, after all, he isn't really sure what to say since he comes from a long history of workers: his family, for starters, they are the people responsible for Rei's work ethic in the first place. They have always taught him that with hard work anything can be accomplished, whether it be for strength or simply to increase the persons knowledge of the world in understanding what its like to work with other people. Something along the lines of that. Then there is the village: The whole village was filled with countless helpers to the farm lands and when it came to shopping in town, harvesting the land and things like that. So Rei doesn't know much about being the kind of person to sit around a lot. Which reminds him, he needs to find something to do with himself after school.

"So what's your name, newbie?" The boy asks. "I'm, Tyson Granger." He bows politely.

"Rei Kon." He bows right back.

It takes Tyson a minute before his eyes nearly fall out of his head from realization. "Oh shit! You mean, from the _Kon_ family that lives in Japan?!"

"No, from the _Kon_ family that lives in China."

"Oh." He seemed a bit heart broken.

"What's that about?" He says mostly to himself.

"Well, do you have a brother named, Lee?" He questions, assuming that Rei had been asking a question. Fist clenched from curiosity as he walked sideways to check Rei's face for lying.

"Yeah, so?"

"So!?"

Rei jumps from the sudden elevation of the boys voice.

"He's only the coolest guy in the whole city!" Tyson shakes his head as though he can't believe someone as great as Lee has an even cuter younger brother. "Oh man, Rei."

Rei wasn't sure what that meant, but he didn't hate it. It sounded like some type of compliment. "You wanna meet him? He's probably still at home right now. He just got off from work."

"I remember the first time I met him," Tyson went on in his own little world. "I didn't have any cash to see this new movie that came out, and the guy totally spotted me some, we even sat together."

"You don't say,"

Going on, again, ignoring the other male's words. "He gave me a ride to school like- twice! And never once treated me like a middle class kid because he went to highschool."

Rei was almost stunned to hear that. What difference did grade level matter? What kind of school year was he going to have, especially, since his older brother was as good as out of school since this summer began. He wondered if Lee would go out of his way just to drive Rei to school, even though the college building was down town. He didn't seem to mind driving Tyson around.

"You're probably the luckiest guy in the whole city."

"Okay, okay. Calm down." He, sarcastically, humored the boy; hands held up to silence his new friend. Opening the white gate that fenced the large house within it, he made a gesture to the boy to enter.

"Wow!" He looked it up and down. "And your old man must be the dude who owns Neko-kin. That famous restaurant uptown?"

Smiling, Rei walked up the path to the house. "I guess as far as impressing you, my work is done."

Tyson laughed it off, calming himself down a bit. "Sorry Rei, it's just... you're like a celebrity with the family you have."

"Not really. But Stan Kon is my _uncle_, not my father."

"Oh. So what does your dad do?" Asks the curious boy. "Is he famous too?"

Rei swallowed at that. He hadn't exactly come to grips with what happened to his parents, and the last thing he wanted was to sound like a cry baby. Bad enough, his uncle thought therapy was needed for him to talk through his sadness. Whatever happened to good old family talk, bonding through the people who are lost to you. Guess things work differently with a man of the world.

"My Dad owned a Dojo back home."

"Back home?"

"Yeah, my family originated from China." The boy could guess that his hyperactive friend hasn't been listening to a word he's said past 'I'm- Kon'. "Or did Lee never tell you that?"

"I kind of guessed from your last name, but, Lee seemed like he was born here rather than just migrated."

Tyson shrugged an apology.

Rei was actually flattered; it was the first time he and his family had ever come into context with an animal other than a cat. Not that he couldn't see the reason.

"But that's cool, because my Grandpa owns a dojo too."

"Does he teach karate?" Rei asked eagerly. He's been dying to continue training since... well, since his father can't teach him anymore.

"Nope. Kendo." He struck a pose like he held a sword in his hand.

"What's Kendo?"

Sticking a knowing finger into the air, he smirks with pride. "That's the art of fighting with a wooden sword, it's a whole 'Defend rather than fight' kind of deal." Closing his eyes with a boastful air about him, he ended by saying. "My Grandpa's the best in Japan."

That got through to Rei more than the fact that he thought Tyson was kind of cute. The boy has a sense of family. "He sounds great."

"He is great. Wanna meet him? I'll bet he'd teach you in a heart beat-.." he paused. "That is, if you wanna learn."

"Sure. We've got some time left in the summer, I can take classes until school starts."

"Choice." He slaps his friend on the shoulder. "Then you can join the Kendo club at school with me this year."

_Hm. Looks like I found a way to fill my trophy case_. The door swung open after Rei extracted his keys from the keyhole. "I'm home!" He calls.

"Woow!" Tyson's mahogany eyes dart from here to there as he takes in the place. "Check out the pad. And you get to live here?"

"For the rest of my life-.." mutters the somber teen. "Lee?" He thought it pointless to call for his uncle, since he has work right now.

They always, the employees, start kitchen duties before the place opens: Cleaning the dishes again, checking reservations, and turning the chairs over onto the floor, prepping the dishes, things like that. Rei usually attended these duties, but his uncle told him to sit this one out. Apparently the boy seemed stressed out this morning, which is why he had enough time today to take his usual walk.

"Rei." Lee appeared out of nowhere as though he were hiding behind the door. "Have you seen my... what's with him?"

Looking at, the brother ogling Tyson, Rei shakes his head. "You're famous, go figure."

Smiling fondly at his brother's rolled eyes, and his strange choice of friends; Lee pats the smaller boy on the head. "Hey squirt. Haven't we met before?"

"Uh... Uh..."

"Now whose run out of conversation." Placing his hands on Tyson's shoulders, he ushers the boy to the stairs. "We can hang out in my bedroom. Come on."

Lee watched their departure, then heading to the foot of the stairs he calls up after them. "I'm having a get together tonight at seven,"

Rei glanced over his shoulder to show that he was listening, though, he didn't slow his pace.

"Me and some of the guys are gonna order some pizzas, and watch a couple horror flicks if you wanna get in on it."

"Okay."

"Nice. Let me know what you want by six thirty."

Nodding, Rei continued down the long hallway and into his bedroom. Once inside, he closes the door and walks over to the bed. Tyson joins him, face still set in 'awe' of getting to see Lee again. Rei paid him no mind and busied his self by raising the tv from the floor. Can you believe his uncle even included that. Either these people have no other restaurants in town, or the man really does know what he's doing in the kitchen. Rei assumed it was the latter.

"Wanna watch some tv?" He asked his dumbfounded guest.

"Huh? Yeah sure, what time is it?" He heads over to where Rei is seated on the bed. Looking at his new surroundings while wondering how the heck he got there, he flops down and smiles. "Cool room."

"Thanks. It's sort of a present to me, I think." He glances around. "I guess it's supposed to remind me of home."

Tyson frowned upon hearing that. Cocking his head, he looked the Kon boy over then asks. "That reminds me; you say you live with your uncle but... I've never seen you in the area until last week."

"Hm?" He was unsure of what the, inquisitive, boy was getting at.

"Are you like the black sheep of the family, locked away in your room until just now when you passed the test of normality."

Rei shakes his head, not at all offended. "Normalcy. And I've been living at home with my parents until... recently..." His words dropped a bit, but he held his composure enough to check what channel he had stopped on last during his, unconscious, flicking frenzy. "How 'bout Barney?" He blurts out unaware because he's paying more attention to the weird look Tyson is giving him.

"It's okay bro. I understand... you lost your parents, so now you've gotta live with your uncle. No big deal."

Rei's cream colored cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "You could tell, huh?"

"Yeah... I mean... I know the signs because, I lost my parents too."

"You did?"

"Yup... It was when I was a younger kid, about seven..." Tyson looked far away for a moment; Rei was beginning to regret not keeping his emotions in check. Tyson seemed pretty together when they were talking on the streets but now... he looked just as fragile as he is.

"My parents were... archeologist." He started slowly, it was as though he could see the whole picture playing out before him, and with each word he said, his voice would drag lower into an almost teary mess of non-speech. "I always looked up to them, and what they did... But... one day, my Grandpa told me that they were coming back and that... we had to meet them at the airport... but..." Tears welled in the boy's large brown eyes.

Rei watched him with the fascination of a kid, watching his first magnified ant go up in flames... He was curious, but by no means planning on stopping the scene that was playing out before him. To Rei, Tyson had that type of bravery... that type of comfort with himself to cry in front of people he barely knows. Hell, Rei wished he could cry in front of people he _knew_ really well.

On odd instinct, he reached out and pulled the sad boy into his arms. He held him there for what felt like forever, then he heard Tyson speaking again, his tone flat and even as though his sadness were passing.

"They... didn't exactly come back, though... all the other members that were out there with them, they made it back. They were fine but... not them... something happened on the way to the plane and..."

"You mean they never found them?!"

Tyson shook his head. "They had people search as far and deep as they could but..." he shrugs. "Anyway," his voice was becoming a bit more normal. "I've managed, you know, because I've got Grandpa and he loves me, and so do all of my friends."

"Yeah."

"Speaking of friends, you should meet the guys." Yeah, he was back to normal, as far as Rei could guess by what he knew of the boy. "My best friend is Ozuma, but I have other friends."

"I can tell."

He looks at the door with curiosity. "Your brother invited us to a party right?"

"It's not much of a party, he's just getting some friends together so they can watch DVD's and junk."

"I can sit through some boring horror movies for a while." He shrugs it off. "When is it?"

"Seven. Do you wanna ask your Grandpa if you can come? There's a phone out in the hall."

"Oh! I forgot about Grandpa!" Hoping to his feet, he hurries to the door. "I've gotta go. Thanks for inviting me over, Rei. You're totally worth being friends with."

Rei made a face at that. "Uuhh, thanks."

With a thumbs up and smile, Tyson exits the house. Rei listens to his departure as far as it goes and once it had vanished, he could pretty much guess that the spunky Japanese kid said a loud goodbye to his brother before leaving. Turning off the television, Rei lay back on his bed; raising his head a bit he moves his pony tail to the side so he wasn't crushing his hair, and pressing an unwanted lump into his back.

_Tyson seems pretty normal- albeit- he's got a bit of A.D.D, but that's common in teenagers_. Closing his eyes, Rei tried to relax his nerves all the while noticing a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. _Heh, I can't believe I have a friend. My first friend, and I made him all by myself. Maybe I won't need therapy after all. Tyson seems like he went without it and he turned out ok. So why can't I_?

"Hey bro!" Called Lee from the foot of the stairs. "It's uncle Stan, he wants you at the restaurant. Get changed, I'll drive you over there!"

"I'm coming!" He stretched his arms out, sitting up. "Thank God. Now I've got something to do."

...

_"I'm beginning to see how he plays a role as someone important to you. You see him as someone that's coped without the aid of someone else."_

_"Yeah." _

_"And that to you makes him strong." _

_"Yeah... Plus I really like him. He's nice and kind... at least, I thought that until my first day of school." _

_Miki dropped her pencil at this. "What happened at school? I thought that you and Tyson were friends?" _

_"We are... now... but, before he kind of ignored me for a while. Like the things that happened over the summer never did." _

_The woman nods her head in understanding. "I guess I'll have to hear about that another time because I have another oppointment in five minutes." _

_"Okay." Rei stood just as his watch began to beep. _

_"Haha, I can't help but like how punctual you are." _

_Rei smiled at that. "Thanks. See you later." _

_"Good bye, Rei."_


	4. Bubbles

As Rei walked down the sunny street to his home, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain in his heart. Thinking about telling the woman about his first week of school would be a real problem for him because, not only was it a bad memory for him; the things that happened at the end of that week he didn't think he'd ever want to share with anyone- EVER! It's personal and should only be for his memory to know. No, he would much rather tell the woman that he's gay, than about his horrible days at high school until he was finally accepted by them.

Scrunching his face, he decided that maybe he would just skip therapy altogether tomorrow. He had spent enough days living in the past, so many in fact, he's beginning to lose the present as he spoke.

Nothing is like it was before. He's loved by all, not frowned upon or feared like the first week at school. His eyes scrunched as he, once again, brought it up. Shaking away the thought that was taking over his mind, he slowed his pace and leaned against a building to relax himself.

_Calm down Rei... just a couple blocks and your home. You can do this._ He coached his self.

But upon looking up, he saw it. The scene of him walking into his brothers room that morning before school. Rei knew that shortly after that the rest of that day would follow, and he would be seeing the next day and the next one and the next...

...

Rei brushed his hair in long even strokes. He hates doing this. It takes up so much time from his mornings. Once done, he grabbed it into a pony tail braiding it off from the start of his neck and down to the bend of his knees. Rei has A LOT of hair.

_One last thing..._ Reaching to his left he grabs a red headband with a Yin-Yang sign sewn onto it. Exiting his bedroom, he walks around the hallway peering into each one of the many rooms on that floor. He's searching for help... searching for.

"Lee?"

He walks into the gym where his brother is; splayed out on the bench with a large dumb bell plastered on his chest, Lee glances down at the person who called him. A smile comes to his face.

"Let me guess," he grunts as he raises the bar into the air letting it drop back onto it's base. Sitting up, he motions the boy to further come into the room with him. "You're hoping I can help you out with a campaign for when you run for student body president this year. I always was number one in that field."

"I know Lee, you were number one in every field." Sitting down beside his brother, he holds out his headband. "I need you to tie this on my arm."

Blinking, Lee's face relaxed from its stunned state turning into a smile. "I think you should just sew the damned thing on the sleeve, then we wouldn't have to go through this every morning." Though he complies, tying it tight enough to stay on but leaving it loose enough not to cut off circulation.

"I won't do that... this is the one thing that means something to me from Mom and Dad..." He looks at his lap, eyes filled with sudden sadness. "Last thing I wanna do is have it stuck to this tacky school uniform."

"Yeah, the navy ones are kind of tacky..." Lee mentions. "But hey, after this year you'll be going into high school then you get to wear the black ones." Laughing, he slaps his younger brother on the back. "Maybe I'll be the bigger man and let you wear my old uniform!" Reaching for the boys crotch, he laughs again. "If you think you can fill it out."

Swatting at the intrusive hand, Rei stands. "Would you cut it out?! I have to go to school now."

"Alright..." He watches the younger boy making his way to the exit. "Hey Rei?"

Pausing, he turns his head looking over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I miss mom and dad too... And, I know how you feel... maybe even more so because I chose to move here and was away from them for so long, but..." Standing he walks over to Rei, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Living with Uncle Stan is pretty cool, and the food is good."

Rei scoffed a smile onto his face.

"Besides, this life is good for you. You've been too sheltered back home. It's good that you're getting the proper education, and meeting better friends." Grinning, he tugs at the boy's hair. "I've been with Uncle Stan practically all my life, and I love it... The teachers love me, and they'll love you too... You're special, Rei. So why worry?"

"Because He's not mom and dad... it's _not_ my life." Freeing his self from the older boy's grip, he walks out of the room. "And _I've_ gotta face a group of strangers alone."

"Oh come on."

Moving out of the room, he waves over his shoulder. "See ya, Lee."

"Yeah, later."

Rei was special alright. He turned his shy village life into a mass production of coolness, and everyone loved him. Not only was he the nicest guy in school, what with all the teachers and students respect and love; but just last year he was declared the best looking guy in school, as well. Girls would fan themselves when he walked by, boys look up to him. It was a good life to have. But the end of the year was almost just a blur for Rei because he missed his parents so much.

Before he left the village Rei was bombarded with hugs, kisses and sympathetic wishes for happiness. But how could he be? His parents, the only stability in his life, were now gone. He thought he'd be miserable forever, that is, until he met Tyson Granger.

Tyson proved to be the one good thing in his life and he thought for sure the boy would stay that way, the two of them- well, three if you counted Ozuma- were practically joined at the hip all summer, but he didn't know what awaited him at school. Nothing could prepare him for it.

Rei walked into the building, head held high, walk stern and steady. He was ready to face these people, he was ready to be his own man and make a name for himself. He was...

Everyone could practically smell the new meat that walked into the double doors of the school. A swarm of male gender looking like they would swoop in like killer bees protecting the queen of the hive if they didn't particularly like the vibe Rei was giving off. It was alarming at first, Rei had to admit that, but he wasn't there for them, so he wasn't too worried about it.

Unlike in Elementary school, where you wait in an auditorium or in the lunch room for your teacher to call you to the class, middle school was a little more independent by giving you your schedule ahead of time, basically handing off a note that reads 'Good luck to you.'

Looking over his schedule, he frowns. _I'm dead_. Looking up, he spots the attendance office just ahead of him.

He thought of going that way, but he didn't want to look like a baby in front of every eye that happens to be staring at him right now. So with the same posture as before, Rei strode down the hall to the eigth grade wing. Everything was set up rather simple in this school. The Sixth hall is colored in blue. Seventh in red. Eigth in green. Simple.

_Bad idea coming now_.

The hall was filled to the brim with geeks, and kids that didn't look to be geeky but since they are standing outside of the class room waiting for the teacher like the little pets that they are, Rei knew for sure that coming down now was a bad idea. But then, where were all the other kids? Whispers started up the moment he was spotted. He gave everyone he passed a side glance and nothing more. Once the cat-like teen made it to the classroom, which is homeroom, he leans against a locker and closes his eyes.

He heard the whispers before he received the loud voice at his ear. It sounded a little lower than most conversation he heard, well except for Ozuma, so whoever the kid is he's obviously short.

"Um... Hi!" The boy says. "I'm... Um... I'm..." He was beginning to chicken out seeing that Rei was going to ignore him.

Looking over his shoulder, the short male with the big bangs sees a mob of hands waving for him to go on, adjusting his glasses, he then spoke in a more clear and un-nerved tone. "Hi. I'm Kenny Watanabe, I just thought I should greet you since your new here. You probably could use a friend, right?"

Rei opened his eyes, looking as though he were about to chew the poor boy out, but when he saw the cower in his eyes he rolled his own. "What makes you think I want friends?"

"Well," he looked back for support.

His friends saw Rei look as well, and they all made like they had never heard of a Kenny in their lives.

"It's just that, new or not, most kids go to the cafeteria right now, but you came here. So I just assumed-..."

"You assumed wrong." Rei cut him off.

Last thing he needed was assumptions made on him. He needed to do this right if he were gonna make a name for himself, which meant he was gonna remember to go to the cafeteria tomorrow.

"I don't want or need any friends, and the reason I came here first was to give this to Mr. Shou." Rei flashed the paper.

Which in a sense is true. He did have to give something to his homeroom teacher, it was some stupid paper that the man had to give to the nurse and attendance office. Why he had to see it was beyond Rei's comprehension.

"Aaah... But... are you sure you wouldn't at least like to get to know us?" The brunette pursued. "First days can be murder, especially entering the grade level you are. I could see if this were sixth but.." he chuckled as he trailed off. "We can't all be lucky."

"What does that mean?" Asks the Chinese boy, curiosity running short circles in his head.

"Well," adjusting his glasses again, he smiles like there's a secret in what he's about to say. "I have **in** with the popular crowd."

"As what, the errand boy." Standing upright, Rei looked down the hall spotting a rest room entrance he hadn't noticed when he walked in. Wetting his lips, he looked down at the offended shrimp beside him. "Sorry Kenny, but I have to go. We'll talk more at break, or something." He heads down the hall.

"Wah! W-wait! I didn't catch your name!?"

"It's Rei."

"Rei?"

"Rei Kon."

Everyone's eyes went wide at that and then the whispers really started. Let them talk, he knew it was all lies, anyway, whatever they were saying. Rei hid his self in the last stall in the bathroom and locked the door after himself. Dropping to his knees, he held them as his breathing suddenly became labored as though he had been running all day and just now got a break.

This happened to him a lot. In fact almost everyday, right before his watch would beep. He should know better than to wait for the damned thing, or at least, he should set it back a couple of minutes to avoid its happening.

Digging through his pockets he pulls out a bottle of pills. Popping one into his mouth, he swallows it quickly then hurries from the stall to get a drink. The pills have a nasty taste to them and need a lot of water to get them down, but he takes them anyway because he needs them. Taking huge gulps of water at a time; the bell rings while his head is beneath the sink faucet and he can hear the sound of stampeding kids running through the hall. Through all the voices he heard a familiar one, as its been etched in his heart after their first kiss.

Wiping the water from his mouth, he straightens out his nerves with an even sigh, feeling a little more loose as he walked out the door. Today is going to be a great day.

9 9 9

Today had been hell and so were the people who were involved in making it so. Tyson wasn't in a single one of his classes, not even gym! Ozuma was in one of the classes but he seemed to be in his own little world, even when he had said "Hi" to him practically in his face, he received a dry nod before his 'friend' went back to gnawing a poor pen cap to death.

_Maybe he's just drained because of the class. This guy is really boring_. Figuring that must be it, he nods. It's understandable, right?

But when lunch rolled around, it was like something out of a horror picture. He saw Tyson and Ozuma laughing and joking around with one another, it made him happy to know that he was finally gonna take a break from the silent treatment he'd been giving everyone and talk to his real friends, but when he sat down the two of them gave him a stare that would make a lesser man's blood run cold. But he shrugged it off as nothing.

"You won't believe the day I've been having." He said, about to take his lunch from his bag.

"What gives?" Says Tyson. "Why is he still sitting here?" He was talking to Ozuma.

The shorter boy shrugged with a dry look. Rei could see he switched from killing a pen cover to eating away at a straw. Doesn't he know what food is?

"Quit joking around. It's me, Rei. Remember?"

Tyson shrugged. "I know a lot of people, that doesn't mean much."

"Nothing at all." Chimes Ozuma. "...Move."

Rei looks them over with a laugh. They can't be serious. They know him! "What?"

"Come on, Oz'. This guy can't take a hint."

"Yeah."

The two of them begin to stand but Rei does first.

"You know what, fuck you." Taking his things he moves to a different table at the end of the cafeteria... alone... by his self.

He could hear Ozuma laughing in the background and it made him wanna put a hole in the wall. Or maybe through someone's head. Shooting them an angry glance, he couldn't hold it for very long. His shoulders slumped in confusion and wear. What the hell was going on with them? Was he in the twilight zone or one of those goofy shows where some idiot that you know pops out from somewhere, and tells you you're on hidden camera. No. That can't be it because all the idiots he knows are already around- and ignoring him!

Rei thought for sure it was some dumb thing, it had to be... but the next day it was the same way. He didn't even see the two after school. And when he tried to call them, his phone flashed that the numbers could not be found. Or that he was blocked. On the third day he thought about saying something to those two bastards, but he wasn't one to be kicked around... so he just let it go, and ate alone like the other two days.

...

As present Rei's breathing steadied, he swallowed his nerves. A passerby on the street stopped, holding out a hand about to ask him if he were all right, he waved her off and started off for his uncle's house again.

_It went on like that for a week. And when Friday came, I had just about lost my mind... in fact, if it hadn't been for the fact that I had accidentally tripped Kane to take some of the attention from me, I don't think anyone would have ever acknowledged me_. He turns at the light. _Ha. But they didn't really notice much, sure they laughed, but laughter isn't much, all the world loves a clown._

But Rei knew the real reason he didn't want to tell Miss Ito what happened. It was what happened afterward at home, that made him nervous to talk about it. Not even his own brother really knew the truth about that. It's still so vivid in his mind and it reminds him... its always there to remind him... why he takes the pills.

It happened directly after school.

He slams the front door and starts for the stairs when his brother blocks his path. He tried stepping to the side, but failed as Lee got in his way again. His brother has his arms over his chest, and that smirk on his face that said Rei was in for a bit of teasing.

"Please move, I'm tired." Pleads the younger of the two Kon children.

"Hmm," Lee presses a finger to his chin tapping it. "I don't think I will."

"Please Lee, get the hell out of the way!" He didn't mean to snap at him, but it came out that way.

"Not until you tell me where your entourage is."

"My what?"

"The horde of people that have followed you home because you were just so damned cool this week."

Rei made a face that asked, 'are you kidding me'. With a wave of his hand and a quick step to the right he started upstairs saying over his shoulder. "I left them behind two blocks back. How 'bout you go look for them. I'm gonna go take a bath."

Lee watched the boy go, head cocked and brows furrowed. His little brother looked totally warn out. Maybe he really was running around the neighborhood trying to lose the crowd of people. He himself welcomed it, he was practically carried people home!

"Poor little guy. I'll make you some tea."

Rei raised his hand in what was supposed to be a wave. Stripping on his way down the hall, he first dropped his school bag, then came his uniform jacket, next was his sleeveless undershirt, and lastly his pants with the boxers still inside.

The door to the bathroom closed, Rei turns on the water; sitting on the rim of the tub he watched as the water filled up. Each ripple in the water seemed to project a day in the week he's had. Monday... Tuesday... Wednesday... when he got to Saturday he found that some of the ripples were going the other way, due to the obstructing tears that were falling from his chin.

_Why would he do that_? He questioned as he climbed into the tub, and slipped down under the water_. Why would he... ignore me_? _Is it because I slept with him and he felt over powered because I was on top?_ Opening his eyes, which he didn't even realize he'd closed, Rei saw a flood of bubbles passing his eyes. _One... two... three... four... Should it feel like this_? He wondered as he continued to count. _Should it feel like I'm light headed... like I'm not really in the water?_ He counted four more bubbles. _I've never drowned before... so I wonder how many bubbles it would take before it happens? Will I have counted the last one, or will it just happen without my knowing it_.

His vision blurred, he could feel his eyes rolling up into his head, he could feel the swarm of ink colored black hair tickling his body as it drifts about beneath him, but that couldn't be ri-... Before Rei knew what was happening he was cold and airborne. Something was trying to speak to him from far away. He could hear it- sort of. He was laying down again, on something soft before his face was attacked with something soft.

"Rei! Rei can you hear me?!" The voice shouted.

Rei's eyes are closed, at least, he thinks they are. Turning his head to where the thumping sound is mostly coming from, he's beginning to see a bit. Slowly, a smile comes to his lips. "Hhhaaa Leeeee..." His voice was barely audible.

"Thank god!" He wrapped his arms around his younger brother before pulling himself away. "What the fuck were you doing!? You could have drowned!"

"Mmm..." he curled into a ball, closing his eyes again.

"No. Wake up!" He shook him until the boy's golden eyes were on his own. "You can't go to sleep just yet," he softly smacks the boy's cheeks. "Hey... Hey, Rei... Are you listening?" Rei nods. "Are you okay? Did you inhale any water?"

"I don't know... I don't remember what happened..." Looking, dizzily, at his brother he asks. "What happened?"

"You nearly drowned in the tub!" He couldn't believe Rei didn't know what happened! "If you were tired why did you take a bath? You could have died."

"Stop it, stop it!" The younger boy snaps. "I don't wanna hear it right now! I'm just... I wanna take a nap."

Shaking his head, Lee stands up. "I'll talk to you later then," he pulls his blanket up over his brothers naked body, the towel around his body long since fell away in the hall, and the one for his face was wrapped around his soaking wet mop of hair.

_Bing Bong_!

Turning his head, Lee frowns. "Who the hell is that?"

The door bell rings again.

Giving his brother one last look, his figured he really was tired and had accidentally fallen asleep in the bathtub but that didn't explain why his eyes were opened and... Forget it for now. He had to answer the door since Junpei was with his uncle doing errands. Trampsing downstairs, he yanks open the large door. Staring straight ahead he saw nothing, but looking down there stood-...

"Tyson."

"Hey Lee!" He greets just as cheerfully as he had been every time he came over during the summer. "Is Rei home? I've gotta tell him something important."

"Yeah, but he's not really-..."

"Hey Tyson," Rei says in a groggy voice. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and white hooded sweater. Lee could tell it was just a slap on.

"Rei! You did it dude, you totally did it."

"Did what?" His eyes were still red around the rim from the bubble soap he'd put in the bathwater, he almost looked like an addict.

"Your popularity stats are off the scale!" He hurries in past Lee, and up the stairs to his summer boyfriend.

"They're still doing that over there?" Shaking his head. "That is so elementary." Lee grabbed his coat from the hanger, then looked up the stairs. "Hey bro, I'll be back in a bit. Tyson, don't stay too long, Rei needs to get some rest."

"Sure thing, Lee!" His smile brightened at the male's acknowledgment.

When the front door closed, Tyson and Rei walked upstairs into his room. Just when the Japanese boy was about to say something, Rei clamped his mouth around his and backed him up to his bed.

He didn't have time for talk, and he sure as hell didn't wanna hear about anything involving school and popularity. Right now, he just wanted to clear his mind and pressing bodies together was the best way he knew how...

...

_But that was a long time ago and things are better now_. Thinks the Chinese boy as he sees his uncle's mansion in the distance. _My only problems now are keeping my uncle from finding out the truth about me. And that shouldn't be hard. After all, not that many people know about it_. Smiling, he opens the front door. _I think I'll skip therapy tomorrow. I need some me time_.


End file.
